Rwanda reports eight deaths linked to the Ebola-like Marburg virus, eight days after announcing the outbreak

Kigali, RWANDA (AP) — Rwanda says eight people have died so far as a result of an Ebola-like disease highly contagious Marburg virusjust days after the country reported an outbreak of deadly hemorrhagic fever, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates from flying foxes and spreads between people through close contact with the body fluids of infected people or with surfaces such as contaminated bed sheets. Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal in up to 88% of those affected.

Rwanda, a landlocked country in Central Africa, declared an outbreak on Friday and its first six deaths were reported a day later.

So far, 26 cases have been confirmed and eight of those affected have died, said Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana on Sunday evening.

The public has been urged to avoid physical contact to limit the spread. In addition, about 300 people who came into contact with confirmed infected people were identified, and an unspecified number of them were placed in isolation facilities.

Most of those affected are healthcare workers in six of the country's 30 districts.

“Marburg is a rare disease,” Nsanzimana told journalists. “We are increasing contact tracing and testing to stop the spread.”

The minister said the cause of the illness was not yet clear. It can take between three days and three weeks for a person infected with the virus to show symptoms, he added.

Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting and, in some cases, death from extreme blood loss.

The World Health Organization will increase its support and work with Rwandan authorities to help stop the spread, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media platform X on Saturday.

The US Embassy in Rwanda's capital Kigali has asked its employees to work remotely and avoid office visits.

Marburg outbreaks and individual cases Cases have been recorded in Tanzania in the pastEquatorial Guinea, Angola, Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Ghana, according to the WHO.

The rare virus was first identified in 1967 after it caused simultaneous outbreaks of disease in laboratories in Marburg, Germany, and Belgrade, Serbia. Seven people died after being exposed to the virus while conducting research on monkeys.

Separately, Rwanda has so far reported six cases of Mpoxa disease caused by a virus related to smallpox but typically causing milder symptoms. Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox because it was first observed in research monkeys, has also affected several other African countries The WHO has declared a global health emergency.

Rwanda launched an MPOX vaccination campaign earlier this month and more vaccines are expected to arrive in the country. Adjacent Congo has reported the most Mpox cases to datethe epicenter of the emergency.